Mr Russell Burt, of Auckland, MNZM for services to primary education
Russell Burt has been the principal of Pt England School, a decile-one school in East Auckland, since 1993. In 2007, he co-founded the Manaiakalani Education Programme, established to accelerate academic progress and deliver digital learning outcomes in low-socioeconomic communities. The programme now has an outreach programme with 91 schools, and his work has assisted more than 20,000 primary school students, mainly Māori and Pasifika. He is an advisor with the Manaiakalani Education Trust, which funds the programme. He has been an advisor to the Ministry of Education and is a member of national taskforces and reference groups. Mr Burt is Chair of the Tamaki Community Development Trust.